Daily Herald opinion: It shouldn't take a shooting to bring forgotten corners of suburbs help
This editorial is a consensus opinion of the Daily Herald Editorial Board.
Must it take a fatal shooting to get the residents of an out-of-the-way apartment complex some attention?
After the June 18 shooting that killed a 31-year-old father of two and hurt more than 20 other people during a late-night Juneteenth gathering at a strip mall in unincorporated DuPage County, county and community leaders thought they should check in with the residents of the nearby Hinsdale Lake Terrace apartments, also known as Willowbrook Corner, to see what kind of help they may need. They see some problems.
"It's disheartening to witness the lack of amenities out there and the disinvestment in that community," DuPage County Board member Liz Chaplin said at a committee meeting.
Chaplin and others noted the only walkable grocery store is a small convenience store in the strip mall where the shooting took place. The nearest full-service grocery store is two or three miles away, a long walk for residents who do not have cars. And access to public transportation, park or library programs is limited, Chaplin said.
On Monday, DuPage County Board Chair Deborah Conroy convened a meeting of 25 county board leaders, area school officials, community organization leaders and Hinsdale Lake Terrace representatives. Mental health services, programming for children, job assistance and a satellite office for the DuPage County sheriff's office were identified as priorities. Conroy said an action plan will be developed and the group will meet again soon.
The Rev. Betty Starks, who once led a church in the apartment complex, left the meeting cautiously optimistic. "The only thing I can do is hope," Starks said, noting a similar response in 2012 after a fatal shooting in the area.
There has been help before. The complex did have a neighborhood resource center backed by the DuPage County sheriff's office in the 1990s, but deputies eventually were pulled for what then-Sheriff John Zaruba said was a lack of interest. Starks participated in a group that worked with school officials to organize monthly activities, such as talent shows, but "we don't have as many programs as we used to have."
Now a new community center is nearly complete, but what services will be provided there remains unclear. Conroy says, "I have my entire staff looking at things that might help" - and on Monday she said the county will be looking into grant opportunities to help community groups expand services - but she wants to hear from the residents, too.
"What I heard today I've heard before," Starks said. "But maybe this will make a difference."
The pastor shouldn't have to keep holding out hope. The Willowbrook Center residents need help that, this time, must be sustained. We also are reminded of just how many other forgotten corners of the suburbs exist and how many more need attention. We know there are several. We hope elected officials and community leaders are noticing them before tragedy strikes them, too.